Deuteronomy 6 explained: Love God and Pass It On

Why these laws matter (vv. 1-3)

Moses says his teaching is meant to become a way of life for parents, children and grandchildren in the land they are about to enter. Deep respect for God is pictured as the root of obedience, and a good life in a fertile land as its fruit.

The great call (vv. 4-5)

These lines are called the Shema, from the Hebrew word for "hear," and are still said daily in Jewish prayer; scholars debate whether verse 4 means "the LORD is one" or "the LORD alone is our God." Love for God is to involve the whole person, and in the Gospels Jesus names verse 5 as the greatest commandment.

Keeping the words close (vv. 6-9)

God's words are to fill ordinary life: taught to children and talked about at home, on the road, at bedtime and on waking. Later Jewish practice took verses 8 and 9 literally, with small boxes holding scripture worn on the arm and forehead and scrolls fixed to doorframes, though some scholars think the first meaning was figurative.

Danger of a full stomach (vv. 10-15)

Israel will take over cities, wells and vineyards built by the peoples already living in the land, and the warning is that comfort breeds forgetting. Calling God "jealous" means he demands sole loyalty, and the text bluntly threatens destruction for turning to other gods.

No testing God (vv. 16-19)

At Massah, Israel demanded water in the desert and questioned whether the LORD was really with them. Moses urges trust and faithful living instead, tied to the promise of driving out the land's current inhabitants, which the next chapter spells out in harsh terms.

When your child asks (vv. 20-25)

When children ask why these laws exist, parents are to answer with a story: we were slaves, and the LORD rescued us and gave us this land. Obedience is presented as a response to that rescue and as the way of living rightly before God.

Key verse: Deuteronomy 6:5

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on how verse 25, which links careful obedience with being right before God, fits with later teaching that people are made right with God through faith rather than by keeping the law.

Something to think about

When life gets comfortable, what do you tend to forget that once seemed very clear to you in harder times?